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==Records==
The [[British Library]] webpage [http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/willsandadministrations/willsadmin.html Wills and Administration] lists sources in the [[India Office Records]].
Note that if you are searching for a person who lived outside of Calcutta and the other capitals, up-country, in the Mofussil, they will probably be found in the records of the District Courts, not the Supreme Courts. The District Court records start from 1865, as explained in this [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlag_4&cid=1-65#1-65 summary of L/AG/34 contents]. This Rootsweb India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-10/1256029313 thread] advises that the only information available in relation to wills proved in District Courts are the summaries of grants made which are contained in the District Court Calendars of Probate. Unlike wills proved in the Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, copies of the actual wills were not sent to the India Office in London. At this point (December 2009) it appears most likely that the Indian Courts, rather than Regional State Archives in India would be most likely to hold the probated wills, if copies still exist. Details of both these sources may be found in [[Indian Libraries and Archives]].
Some wills proved in England relate to persons with links to India or, indeed, those who have actually died in India. Maybe property was held at home and abroad and, therefore, the will was proved in both places. Where this happened before 1858 a will held in the British Library may also be mirrored in the Documents Online section of the National Archives website – from where it can be downloaded at nominal cost. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/willsdeathduties.asp National Archives].
[http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861-1941] is now available through Ancestry.co.uk. Note there are a few gaps inrecords. If you wish to order a copy of a will or grant mentioned in this collection, you can do so for a fee from the Principal Probate Registry or any district probate registry. Read how to do this in the [http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1176.htm Guide to obtaining probate records from 1858 in England and Wales] by Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS) part of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Wills may be a means of tracing family links through the beneficaries named. This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1261146747 post] says “I have a will from Bengal dated 1813 in which an ancestor of mine named his brother-in-law as a beneficiary. That is the only clue I have to his wife's identity”.
Move FIBIS resources up for continuity with other pages
==FIBIS resources==
*Sylvia Murphy, "Some Sources of Probate and Estate Records for India," ''FIBIS Journal'', No 8 (Autumn 2002). For details of how to access this article online, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
[http://www.fibis.org/membership.htm FIBIS members] can also take advantage of the FIBIS research service to obtain a photocopy of a microfilmed will from the [[British Library]] (and, indeed, details from other records ) where a reference has been found on the website. A search can also be made for wills, probates and inventories which may not yet be listed on the site. Members should contact the research co-ordinator - [mailto:research@fibis.org research@fibis.org] - for details of this service.
==Records==
The [[British Library]] webpage [http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/willsandadministrations/willsadmin.html Wills and Administration] lists sources in the [[India Office Records]].
Note that if you are searching for a person who lived outside of Calcutta and the other capitals, up-country, in the Mofussil, they will probably be found in the records of the District Courts, not the Supreme Courts. The District Court records start from 1865, as explained in this [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlag_4&cid=1-65#1-65 summary of L/AG/34 contents]. This Rootsweb India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-10/1256029313 thread] advises that the only information available in relation to wills proved in District Courts are the summaries of grants made which are contained in the District Court Calendars of Probate. Unlike wills proved in the Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, copies of the actual wills were not sent to the India Office in London. At this point (December 2009) it appears most likely that the Indian Courts, rather than Regional State Archives in India would be most likely to hold the probated wills, if copies still exist. Details of both these sources may be found in [[Indian Libraries and Archives]].
Some wills proved in England relate to persons with links to India or, indeed, those who have actually died in India. Maybe property was held at home and abroad and, therefore, the will was proved in both places. Where this happened before 1858 a will held in the British Library may also be mirrored in the Documents Online section of the National Archives website – from where it can be downloaded at nominal cost. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/willsdeathduties.asp National Archives].
[http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861-1941] is now available through Ancestry.co.uk. Note there are a few gaps inrecords. If you wish to order a copy of a will or grant mentioned in this collection, you can do so for a fee from the Principal Probate Registry or any district probate registry. Read how to do this in the [http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1176.htm Guide to obtaining probate records from 1858 in England and Wales] by Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS) part of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Wills may be a means of tracing family links through the beneficaries named. This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1261146747 post] says “I have a will from Bengal dated 1813 in which an ancestor of mine named his brother-in-law as a beneficiary. That is the only clue I have to his wife's identity”.
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